Something Real
by AshGurl2897
Summary: Completed: Bright and Hannah. The events during the summer after their first kiss and the beginning of what would Season 4. Some Ephramy as well.
1. Default Chapter

"All right, I'll see you later, Hannah. Like next fall." Bright stuck his hand out to shake hers. A handshake? That was the best he could do? Girls never did this to him. He smiled and turned around to return to his truck.

God, he was gonna miss his chance again. He couldn't wait a whole summer.

"Wait! No, wait," He replied, turning back around to her. She lifted her gaze from the ground to his face. "I didn't come here just to say goodbye to you. Remember at first, when we first met, and you said you liked me. It was-it was really weird you know? And it wasn't you know but then we started hangin' out, and then we became friends -- and you got hot! I'm not just talking about the take-your-glasses-off-kind-of way. Oh, man, just, oh."

He couldn't wait any longer, and hurriedly took her as tightly in his arms as he could  
and kissed her. This couldn't go wrong for him, could it? She wanted this earlier this year, and now he wanted it too. He only had a moment to wait for her reaction. He felt her run her hands through his hair and hang on for dear life as this all unfolded.

He pulled away, and searched her face for the response. She smiled breathlessly. "I feel sweaty."

He laughed, relieved that she was okay with it and he picked her up off the ground and kissed her again like he'd wanted to do since he saw her in that prom dress with Shasta McSpastic, and realized how he really felt about her. It was from that point simply undeniable. He'd tried, but even Amy saw through it. She wasn't some trophy girl to hang on his arm like all the others though. The reason the heat was flowing between them right now was because he actually cared about her as a person, about how he made her feel. He knew that was why she was so different than the other girls. Why he'd waited so long to do something.

He set her down, squeezed her tightly again and stepped a few inches back. She looked up. There was a dazed look in her eyes, a good one.

"Bright---," she couldn't speak. She fluttered her eyes and took a deep breath in.

"Hannah, I'm sorry I waited this long to realize."

"It's a process, you know. Everyone goes through it even with me and Topher, I mean look at us. That kid kissed like a fish and I didn't even really like him that much. I just felt bad about him liking me so much, and I kind of liked the attention so I kept him around and I suppose it was leading him on but---"

He kissed her lips again in short pecks. She felt his hand on the small of her back.

"Sorry." She replied as soon as her lips were free to speak again. "I really do have to go though, Nina's bringing me to the airport."

"Right, that whole family in Minnesota thing," he stepped back.

"Yeah," she frowned a little and looked down at the ground again. "But, you know. I'll write, and email and call. I'll even come and visit or something a few times. And I'll be back in the fall." She looked up and met his eyes.

"Sure." He replied.

"You ready to go?" Nina came down the front steps.

"Yeah," Hannah nodded pushing her glasses up. She picked up a suitcase.

"I can take her, Nina." Bright interjected.

"That would be a big help with all this moving that Jake is doing. Is that okay, Hannah?"

"Umm, yeah sure I guess." She replied.

He picked up a few of her bags and they walked to the truck and Nina returned back inside. He opened the passenger door for her and went around to the driver's side. He got in and put his hands on the wheel. There was silence and he started the engine.

A few miles farther down the road he turned on the radio because the silence was killing him. The lull of low country music carried them all the way to Denver International Airport. He drove up the ramp, paid the parking fee and turned off the car.

"Hannah, how is this gonna work?" He looked over at her, breaking the silence.

"I don't know."

"How can I be away from you for a whole summer? I finally got the nerve to tell you how I feel about you and now you have to go away. You're like the only person I talk to with Ephram gone and all."

"I know but I have to go, my Dad---"

He touched her hand and laced his fingers through hers.

"It'll be okay. You need to go back."

"Bright, I really, really like you. I want this to work."

"What if I came out to Minnesota? I'm taking my classes online anyway this summer. Then we could be together, and I could meet your family. I've heard so much about them."

"Maybe, you could visit for a while. You wouldn't want to stay the whole summer, believe me. I know my family."

"It's not about them, it's about you, Hannah."

"Bright, it's not as if I'm going to China. This, you and I that is, is like the best thing ever to happen to me, and nothing is gonna happen just because of a few months apart." She popped the door open and started to unpack her luggage from the bed of the truck.

He picked up the remaining ones and they walked inside and to the gate.

"Goodbye, Bright." She smiled setting down her bags and putting her arms around his neck to hug him. He embraced her back, sighing.

"I've never known a girl like you before Hannah. I've probably never really "known" a girl very well at all other than maybe Amy. Take care." He whispered softly in her ear.

He rested his forehead on hers and simply stood there, looking at her. He closed his eyes and slowly made his was in to kiss her. These kisses were gentle, unlike the passionate, rushed kisses he'd given her earlier and they almost floated on her lips. They were gentle, yet the heat was still there. Kisses like that made it harder for her to leave.

"Spicy," she whispered and smiled. He cocked his head, confused. "Amy told me that kissing was supposed to be like spicy salsa when I told her that my kiss with Topher was mild. Spicy," she repeated. He chuckled and a big Bright smile spread across his face.

She picked up her luggage as she heard the call for her flight. "Goodbye." She said again. She turned to board and made it to the gate. He just watched her leave. Not sure of the future.

"Hannah!" He called. She turned around. "Call me." He said in a softer voice as he made a telephone with his left thumb and pinky and held it to his ear.

She laughed and her face lit up. God he loved that smile. She turned back and boarded her plane. He stood there are the plane taxied the runway and took off from Denver International headed for Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

What would happen to them separated by that many miles? Bright had never actually cared for a girl more than just her body and it was like withdrawal when he was away from her. She was like his addiction. This was a new feeling. He hoped it would last the summer.


	2. Thoughtful Reassurance

Bright picked up the cordless and sat down with a thump on his bed. He fiddled with the short antenna idly and twirled the phone around a few times. He sighed and looked up, not really sure if he should call her or not. He glanced at the clock. It was 7:45. He'd come upstairs as soon as he was done with dinner.

"Bright!" Amy asked pushing his partially open door all the way open.

"What Amy?" His voice was startled.

"Do you have my Cake CD?"

"I don't know. Go look if you want." He pointed to his CD rack.

"What's up with you?"

"Nothing"

"Missing Hannah already are you?" She asked finding her CD.

"No," he said a bit unsteadily.

"It's okay Bright. I'm a girl. I know about these things. You don't have to try and pretend. You two are adorable. Give her a call. I'm sure she'd love to hear from you."

"What do I say to her?" He asked, his bright blue eyes beaming.

"What would you normally say to her?" Amy asked sitting down on his bed in front of him and pulling a few stray blonde hairs back.

"I'm not sure. We kind of just talked about stuff, you know?"

"Yeah. Well, just give it a try. If you really do miss her, then call her. You'll have something to say. You always do."

"Thanks, Amy." He smiled a little.

"Sure. You're welcome." She replied and walked to the door.

Bright sighed again, still not confident in himself. He dropped the phone again.

"Hey Bright," she popped back around the corner of the door. "Thanks for the CD."

"Yeah, no problem." He looked down again. The sounds of Cake began to emanate from Amy's room down the hall.

_

* * *

'Cause I've found what the world is searching for_

_Here, right here, my dear, I don't have to look no more_

_And all my days, I've hoped and I've prayed_

_For someone just like you to make me feel the way you do_

_I'm never gonna give you up_

_I'm never ever gonna stop_

_Stop the way I feel about you_

_Girl I just can't live without you

* * *

He picked up the cordless again and dialed her number. It rang once, twice, three times. The answering machine picked up on the fourth ring. A man's voice gave the usual speech and he could only assume it was Hannah's father or brother. The tone sounded, and his brain scrambled to think of what he wanted to say._

"Hey, this is a message for Hannah. I was just calling to talk to her, see how she was doing. This is Bright Abbott by the way. It was nothing urgent but I'd love a call back when she could get to it." He pressed the talk button and set down the phone.

He laid back on the soft bed and thought. He thought about everything going on in his life now with his mother and with Hannah's dad. It was crazy how stuff happened like that in life. One minute everything is fine, and then BOOM! Some news like that shows up and changes lives. It made him realize just how much of his life he wasted on pointless bimbo girls and not making more of his high school career.

The phone rang. He lunged forward to pick it up.

"Hello, Abbot's." He answered.

"Bright," her soft voice was easy to pick out.

"Hannah," he sighed, feeling overjoyed and relieved to hear from her at the same time.

"I got your message. I was listening to the radio and I didn't hear the phone. I'm sorry." She replied. Just hearing her voice made the world seem a little more at peace.

"That's totally fine. I know how that goes, believe me. I've blasted the radio more than a few times in my lifetime."

"Yeah, I needed something to pass the time as I was cleaning. It's good to hear from you." She smiled, he could tell by the way her voice changed. It got brighter and happier.

"How have you been?" He asked as a wide smile spread across his face and he laid back.


	3. A Little Quiet Conversation

"Okay, so I need another word that means lonely." Bright stopped typing and adjusted the phone with his left hand.

"Why?" She asked.

"I'm writing a paper," he replied.

"Solitary?" She offered.

"You really are a genius, you know that?" He smiled and typed the word in.

"Yes, I know." She smiled. She pushed her glasses up and continued to cut up apples for dinner. "How are classes, by the way?"

"Classes are good. Getting stuff done without too much effort, at least without a lot of pain."

"That's really good, Bright. I'm glad things are finally falling into place in your life."

"The only thing that's missing is you." He sighed. She was silent for a moment.

"You're still coming up for the fourth, right?"

"Wouldn't dream of missing it, my first chance to see you in over two months?"

"OW!" She muttered loudly into the phone.

"What's wrong?" He asked alarmed, his voice switching into protective boyfriend tone.

"I cut myself with the knife I was using." She replied. "Just a second," She set the phone down and ran it under cold water in the kitchen sink. It stopped bleeding and she grabbed a bandage out of the nearby drawer where her family kept them. "Okay, I'm back." She stated picking up the phone again.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yes." She giggled a little at how serious he was about the whole thing.

"Do you still have all your fingers?" He asked, lightening the mood with a little humor.

"Let me check." She began to count. "1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9, oh no, where is number 10?" She pretended to be scared. "Bright, I can't find number ten!"

"Count again." He suggested. She did. This time she came out with ten.

"Oh good, I just have a counting problem. All ten are present and accounted for." She smiled.

"Good. I wouldn't want a girlfriend with nine fingers." He added.

"Are you saying you wouldn't love me if I had nine fingers?" She seemed hurt.

"Love," he repeated with a rising reflection as if in question.

"You know what I mean; I mean you wouldn't like me if I had nine fingers?" She fumbled trying to cover up for the obvious slip she had just made with her emotions.

"Of course I'd still like you with nine fingers, but I'd obviously rather that you had all ten just like God intended all the pretty girls to have." He replied.

"Well, we are all good there, like I said."

"Very good," he answered. He typed in silence for a bit longer, and on the other end she cut some more apples. Their phone calls were less about actually talking than just knowing that the other was there if they did have something they wanted to say. Just to be there to listen.

"How's your mom?" She asked breaking the silence.

"She's doing better. Dr. Brown's surgery is being called a success. It's too soon to tell for sure, but she may make a full recovery. She's back at home with us, getting around better than before." He inhaled deeply thinking about her. He saved the file he was working on and shut off his computer.

"That's amazing, Bright. I was praying for her."

"Thanks." He replied. What an angel. "Well, I should go. I think Amy needs to use the phone or something, she's kinda doing something that looks like the potty dance, only different."

"Put her on, I wanna say hi." Hannah requested. Bright handed the phone to her.

"Hannah! Hey, how are you?" Amy asked all smiles.

"Doing pretty well, yourself?" She asked.

"Well, I'm keeping busy."

"Have you heard from---"

"No."

"I hear your mom is doing well." Hannah commented, making the last statement a little less awkward.

"Yeah, she's doing great."

"That's amazing, Amy. I'm glad to hear that."

"Thanks. Well, I'll give you back to Bright now. E-mail me, okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, no problem, bye Amy." She replied.

"She's still here." Bright said, getting back on the phone. "How do I get rid of her?" He asked, puzzled.

"I have no clue, Bright. Go to a different room."

"Good idea, gosh you are just full of those." He nodded, stepped around Amy, and shut the door a few doors down in the guest bedroom. "Well, I probably should go before she finds me again." He replied.

"All right, it was nice talking to you." She conceded.

"I miss you Hannah."

"I'll see you in a week and a half for the fourth."

"Keep your schedule open, I have quite the events list planned out."

"Really?" She blushed.

"Yep, it's gonna be awesome." His face lit up.

"I'll be counting the minutes." Her heart sped up a little bit with excitement.

"I'll see you then, Hannah. I love you." He replied. She smiled. That tricky boy, making her feel guilty for letting it slip out when he very well felt the same way.

"I love you too, Brighton." She smiled and pressed the talk button on the phone. The pungent aroma of freshly cut apples filled the room. She couldn't wait to see him. She just wanted to run a hand through that curly mop of hair he had and to be swept up in his arms and kissed again like he had before she left.

Amy found Bright two seconds before he hung up. She teased him about saying he loved her. He shrugged it off. He wasn't gonna let his little sister tease him about something so real.

A/N: Please review, I need feedback


	4. The Day

A/N: I haven't already said this, but none of these characters belong to me. They are all property of their respective owners, specifically Greg Berlanti. I'd love to own these two so I could do my own little love puppet shows, but this will have to do for now.  
-----------------

An overly perky, somewhat unreal sounding stewardess broke into the cheesy, quiet in-flight music and Bright looked up from the magazine he had been flipping through.

"We are now landing at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Thank you for flying Northwest Airlines." She informed the passengers.

He wrapped up his I-Pod and straightened up his carry-on bag which was sitting in the seat next to him. Somehow he had been lucky enough to not have someone sit next to him all the way from Denver. That was a miracle, but it was nice to simply be alone with his thoughts and not to have to worry about another person and making painful small-talk with them, or fighting over the arm rests. He took a deep breath as the plane taxied the runway and they began to exit on the concourse. He threw his backpack over his shoulder and left the plane as well, walking with the multitude of other passengers toward the airport itself. He made it to the end of the long dark hallway and the light and noise nearly blinded him. The hustle and bustle of people was enormous compared to the plane. He scanned the crowd for a moment. Then he saw her. She too scanned the crowd for the face she had been waiting to see for what seemed like forever. Their gazes met and a wide smile spread across her face.

"Hannah!" He mouthed with great excitement. As soon as she saw him, she took off like a shot out of a cannon and shortly covered the distance of a good hundred feet between them. It was really a miracle she didn't run into anyone, but she in fact did not, except for Bright, who she collided with only second or two later in an amazing embrace. He wrapped his arms around her, scooped her little frame up, spinning her full circle and setting her down in one fluid, soft motion.

He took a moment just to look at her. Her hair was a little shorter than it had been, but not too much. Her eyes seemed a little more beautiful than he remembered them, and her smile was the same as always; amazing. "It's been too long." He murmured, kind of like he had before the first time they kissed, he leaned in, letting his breath brush against her face for a split second and then rapturing her lips just like he had on the sidewalk leading up to Nina's back in Everwood.

It was not as if the kiss took her by surprise, she was simply very excited to see him. She reached up to put her arms around his neck. In that moment, in the most clichéd way ever, all the surrounding noise ceased to exist and all there was was Bright and the kiss that they were sharing. She ran her right hand through his curly blonde locks and clung to him for dear life with her left. His arms were around her waist and she was up in the air again. Their lips parted and their interaction became a simple embrace, his strong arms encompassing her, not wanting to let her go. When he finally did, she dropped back down gently on the tips of her toes and her eyelids fluttered a few times as she simply processed the last few moments, attempting the store them away to cherish forever.

"It's nice to see you too." She beamed.

* * *

"All right, so just so you can't say I didn't warn you, I'm gonna warn you about my family. They are a little odd. I mean," he squeezed her hand.

"Hannah, please. I'm sure they are awesome. Let's go. Don't worry, okay?" He pleaded.

"Okay." She smiled as he squeezed her hand again.

* * *

"So, this is where you'll be sleeping." She pointed to a small sofa-bed in this room which was obviously the guest room.

"Just down the hall from yours." He grinned.

"Don't get any ideas." She playfully replied. Her mother had given her the talk before she left. Leaving her daughter alone in a house with her boyfriend for a weekend was not really ideal, but she had conceded to it because Hannah insisted that Bright was not like that, nor was she.

"I won't." He beamed back. She knew he wouldn't. He set down his bags and sat down on the sofa-bed. "Sit down; I wanna hear all about life in Minnesota." She sat down against the far side of the bed which was leaning against the wall, and wrapped her arms around her legs.

"What do you wanna know?" She asked. They talked for the better part of an hour and a half, and then she realized as she glanced at the clock that it was nearly midnight. "Wow. It's getting late." She yawned.

"Wouldn't want to keep you from your beauty sleep, not that you'd need it."

"Goodnight Bright. See you in the morning." She replied, grasping his hand as she got up and letting their fingers linger and then separate as she walked away. She opened the door and left the room. She turned back around in the door and reopened it, having not closed it all the way. "It's so good to have you here." She smiled and closed the door.

He changed quickly into a pair of flannel pants and a t-shirt, and lie down on the bed, putting a bent arm under his head to support it. He sighed happily. This had been one of the best days he'd had in a long time and much of it was spent in airports and on airplanes. Seeing Hannah made that all worth it though. He slowly drifted off to sleep, attempting to make some kind of sense of his plans for the next few days.

* * *

Hannah awoke the next morning to the sun streaming into her bedroom window. She never slept this long. She picked up her alarm clock. It was 8:45. She rolled over and stretched a little. There was a knock on her door. Her family had left last night for the clinic in Rochester, shortly after Bright got in so there was only one person it could be. She pulled the covers up over her a bit as she sat up.

"Come in." She called. He pushed open the door gently.

"Its breakfast, little miss sleepyhead." He whispered. He was holding a tray, balanced with food and beverage. He placed it on her lap.

"Bright, this is so sweet." She cooed.

"I figured you'd done enough of helping other people out, I mean my family and yours. You do so much. I thought you deserved a little pampering." He brushed a few hairs out of her face. "Enjoy your breakfast. When you get down, come on down ready for some fun." He smiled and shut the door behind him.

* * *

It was almost hard to believe that the things that happened that day after she got up from her breakfast in bed had even happened. It was like a day lifted directly from the pages of a movie script, one of those really cheesy chic flicks.

They did so many things together. They went bowling, which just happened to be her favorite thing to do on any day, and which she totally creamed him at; 178 to 125. Then after lunch, they went on of all things, a hot air balloon ride. He whispered to her that he wanted her to feel how it was to be him when he was with her; almost like floating. And after that, they returned home, and he cooked her dinner, which amazingly didn't suck at all. He had to keep her out of the kitchen, but he made it himself.

Now they were collapsed on the sofa in the den watching _The Princess Bride_.

"This is such a classic." Hannah commented as she nuzzled into his shoulder. He idly caressed her hand with his thumb as they watched.

"Wuv, Twue wuv… It's what bwings us togethaaaaa!" He exclaimed, quoting the minister. She giggled at the sound of it.

This was a day she would never forget. She had thought that the night before was good, but that was nothing compared to this. Bright really knew how to treat a lady, she honestly was surprised. It's not that she didn't think he was capable, but this was so much more amazing than she'd expected. She yawned and her eyelids began to droop. She attempted to keep them open, so she wouldn't miss a moment of the small amount of time she had left with him, but it was no use.

A moment later, he glanced down to the sleeping girl on his shoulder and smiled. He'd worn her out. He kissed the crown of her head and finished watching the movie. As the credits rolled her gently picked her up and brought her upstairs to her bed. As gently as possible, so as not to wake her, he set her down and covered her with a blanket. She stirred a little and mumbled something, but he didn't understand what it was. He shut the door and she rolled over, to be a little more comfortable.

She wasn't aware of it, but it really was the perfect end to the perfect day.

A/N: I didn't really want to write in Hannah's parents because I don't like making assumptions about not talked about characters, so sorry if anyone really wanted to meet them. lol. Please R&R. Thanks.


	5. Today: Independence

"Here you go, little lady." The man in the cart exclaimed as he handed Hannah a stick of cotton candy.

"Thank you." She replied taking it from him.

"Harriet Island. Is that what you said this place was called?" Bright asked, taking her left hand as she held her cotton candy with her right.

"Yep," she smiled. "They have this festival every year. I went to it once when I was little."

The sounds of the midway flooded their minds and surrounded them as they enjoyed their afternoon. The rides whizzed past them, and they laughed about carnies and the cute stuffed animals hanging from the edges of carnival games. One of which easily enough, he won for her. She blushed, feeling dumb and shyly chose a soft yellow duck.

"There you go, little lady." Bright smiled handing it to her. She giggled a little and took it from him.

"Did you know the fourth of July is my favorite holiday behind Christmas, of course?" She looked up at him as they continued to walk around the midway.

"Really, why is that?" He asked

"Like I said before. I was here once when I was little. It's one of my only really good memories about my father. It was before the disease, and everything it brings complicated everything so much. Now, he barely remembers me and he's never well." Her face changed and she looked down at her feet.

Bright swung around to face her. "Hannah, I know I can't tell you that everything is gonna be okay with him. I wish I could, but I can't. I can only be here to listen to you, and hold your hand." He said taking her hand again. She smiled, feeling a little better. "Come on; let's go on the Ferris wheel." He replied pulling her along.

"Wait, Bright." She stopped him and dropped his hand.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"I'm afraid of heights." She whispered bashfully, playing with her glasses. A wide smile spread across his face and he laughed. _Hannah, the strongest girl I know is afraid of heights,_ he thought. He didn't say that.

He said, "Don't worry; I'll be right next to you. You can hold on to me as tight as you need to." He took her hand back and she followed him up and up as the Ferris wheel went around and around. She clung to his side for the first minute or two, her eyes almost completely closed, and he cherished it, just sitting with her. He squeezed her hand and turned to her. "The view is really kind of cool, everyone looks so small and you can see everything." He motioned for her to look and squeezed her hand again in reassurance. She slid forward a little bit and opened her eyes.

"Wow, it is spectacular! You can see everything, and the people look so small." She smiled, glad that she had opened her eyes now.

"See, I told you. That's what I just said." He laughed. She blushed and slid back in the seat and leaned into him again, resting her head on his shoulder and watching the bright blue sky and all the small people move by. She breathed in the fresh summer air and for a moment she felt at peace with the world.

* * *

"Brighton, where are you taking me?" She muttered a little unsure of where she was walking. Her high heels began to make a clicking noise on what seemed to be wooden planks and the wind had picked up a little, producing a small chill across her shoulders which were revealed by her strapless black dress.

"You'll see. Watch your step." He replied, grabbing her other hand as she intuitively stepped down as if on a staircase.

"Ooh!" She exclaimed as she lost her balance and fell into his arms. They both tumbled to the ground, which was surprisingly not hard as expected, as they landed on a huge pile of blankets. "Can I take this off now?" She asked, still lying on top of him, unable to see anything. He smiled, and lifted the blindfold off her eyes. She blinked once and looked up. It was dark, but her vision was lighted by a string of lights which ran across the top of the marina posts. "Oh, Bright---" she began realizing that he had rented a boat. It was so pretty.

"Are you gonna lie on top of me and waste the night or are we gonna get going?" He asked as she glanced back down at him. She scrunched up her face and giggled, rolling off him. He propped himself up on his right side and took her face in his left hand and kissed her lips.  
"Okay. So I have dinner for us." He replied getting up. "I couldn't make it myself. I only have a few good meals in me." He revealed a pizza box. She scoffed. "Everyone likes pizza." He smiled.

"Yes, everyone does." She smiled sitting down next to him and grabbing a piece from the box. They had a little quiet conversation as they ate, but nothing too involved. This night was about the sounds, the sights and the feelings. Hannah didn't want to forget a single moment of it.

"Stay here, I'll be right back." Bright said as he finished his piece of pizza and moved to the front of the boat. The sound of a motor cut the silence and they began to move. Hannah closed up the pizza box and set it off to the side of the boat. She smoothed down her dress and sat back down on the blankets of which they had fallen. She watched the marina disappear into the distance and attempted to tame her hair as the breeze picked up. Before it got too dark, she noticed a few closed candles and a lighter sitting near where Bright had been. She lit them and set them back down, their light and the moon, cast a soft light over the boat; enough to see and not too much to ruin the mood. Somewhere about five minutes later, the noise of the engine stopped and Bright reappeared.

He moved to the opposite side of the boat and he brought out a boom box. He made his way back to her and offered his hand as the music began to play. "Dance with me." He insisted politely.

_Just hold me and tell me you'll be here to love me today._

They moved to the middle of the deck, the part not covered by blankets. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned her head against his chest.

_The moon's come and gone, but a few stars hang on to the sky._

_The wind's running free, but it ain´t up to me to ask why._

His arms wrapped around her waist and they danced in circles.

_But the poets are demanding their pay_

_and they've left me with nothing to say._

She could have fallen asleep in that moment, she was so comfortable, but she didn't. It was getting on to ten o'clock, she could tell that by the deep black that the sky had become.

"Hannah, I'm gonna miss you so much when I have to go back. This week has been," He whispered but left the sentence hanging, not really knowing how to explain himself. She sighed and moved her head a little.

"I know. I feel the same way." She paused. "I can't believe you did all of this for me, for us, Bright it's so beautiful." She lifted her head and their eyes met.

"It's the best I could do."

_Except hold me and tell me you'll be here to love me today_

_Just hold me and tell me you'll be here to love me today._

"It's been amazing Bright. You are amazing." She uttered softly close to his lips. This time she kissed him. It was for all the times he'd given the kisses to her. Now she was giving them back.

They continued to move in circles, never changing, simply savoring each other's presence on their last night together. A loud noise and a sudden burst of light pulled them apart.

"They're starting. Come on." He took her hand and led back her to the big pile of blankets. He picked two up with his right hand and sat her down with his left. He knelt down in front of her and placed a blanket across her lap, and then rolled to her left side and placed one on his as well. They were against the cabin wall and leaned on it for support as the fireworks show began. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and she snuggled up to him and pulled up her blanket a little.

Dozens of bursts, in all the colors of the rainbow and in as many shapes as you can imagine filled the pitch black night sky.

_Just hold me and tell me you'll be here to love me today._

_

* * *

_A/N: Thanks to Norah Jones for the incredible lyrics. The song is called Be Here To Love Me. Also, thanks **calalily  
**to who reviewed a few chapters ago and gave me this incredible idea, not knowing that I too live in Minnesota and know a little bit about it myself. Although, I never would have thought of this. Thanks, **calalily**. I reallly enjoyed writing this chapter a lot. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please R&R.  



	6. Not Goodbye

Bright slung his bag back over his shoulder once again as he prepared to leave. This last week had been something he'd never thought could ever happen to him. It was unbelievable how much he had fallen for Hannah.

She smiled, hiding her feelings as they made their way through the crowded airport, hand in hand, to the terminal that Bright would leave from.  
_  
This isn't goodbye even as I watch you leave  
__This isn't goodbye_

It was ridiculous to feel this attached, to feel so strongly for this girl who he'd only technically been in a relationship with for a little over two months, but it was the way he felt and Bright was sick of deluding himself and not having real emotions.

_I swear I won't cry even as tears fill my eyes  
__I swear I won't cry_

They reached the gate and he turned around to face her. She didn't want this to be a big breakup scene. She just wanted to savor the past few days.

"I have to go." He uttered softly looking at the gate and then at her.  
"I know." She replied. He bent down slightly to kiss her. These were innocent pecks though unlike their first kiss which surged with passion, each one a request for him to stay, a plea. He lifted his head to leave and her lips followed his face, eyes still closed, just asking for one more kiss. He graciously obliged with one, two and three more.  
"I really have to go." He said again. "I'll call you when I get home, Hannah." It was hard to leave but he had to.

_Any other girl, I'd let you walk away _

He sat in his seat on the plane back, his I-Pod blasting in his ears. If it hadn't been Hannah, he'd have been fine. But it was.

_Any other girl, I'm sure I'd be okay_


	7. There Are Two Roads When You Really

It was one of those things where both parties had meant to call, or to write but other things just kept filling up the time and by the time either's head hit the pillow they were too tired to write, or it was too late to call.

And so it was with Bright and Hannah. He really had planned on calling as soon as he got home, but he returned only to find that his mothers' condition was not as good as they had thought before he left. His mornings were filled with college work online, and his afternoons with appointments which he regularly drove her to, being that his father had to be at work. It wasn't that he didn't think about Hannah, it just ended up that she had last place in his priorities.

The same went for Hannah. She returned to normal life, post Bright visit and was struck with the harsh reality of her father's increasingly terrible illness. He didn't have that long to go, they didn't think. She had to spend every available minute with him, even if he was rarely responsive.

This particular night, she was sitting by his bedside, reading to him from his favorite book of Robert Frost poems. If he didn't really hear them, it didn't really matter. It gave her a confidence that she was repaying him for being the father that he had been until he couldn't be anymore. She was doing what she could. She read:  
_  
"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,  
And sorry I could not travel both  
And be one traveler, long I stood  
And looked down one as far as I could.  
To where it bent in the undergrowth, _

_Then took the other, as just as fair,  
And having perhaps the better claim,  
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,  
Though as for that, the passing there  
Had worn them really about the same,"_

The phone rang and she looked up at it. Setting the book down on her lap, she answered it.

"Hannah?" A familiar voice on the other end asked.

"Yes." She answered, hoping for some reason that it wasn't who she knew it was.

"It's me. I'm sorry that I haven't called. I've just been really busy. Stuff with my mom has gotten complicated again and I need to be there for her. I just had a free moment, one of the first in like four weeks and I wanted to call you to assure you that I am still here. How are you?"

"I'm not doing the best Bright. The reality of everything with my Dad hit me after you left. They say he doesn't have a whole lot of time left. Listen, Bright. It seems like we both have a lot going on in our lives right now, I know I do. I think it might be better if we just stopped trying to take time out to call and talk about pointless things when all this is going on. I mean we are separated by like hundreds of miles; this is a little ridiculous at this point. Okay, so don't bother calling anymore."

As the words slipped from her lips she almost couldn't believe she was saying them, but she was convinced they were what had to be said.

She hung up the phone. She sat back down in the chair by her father's bed. He grabbed his hand.

"Daddy," she began to cry into the edge of the bed. He remained there, lying simply lifeless.

* * *

In an instant a sharp pain took over Bright's chest. Bright had been broken up with before, although truthfully he'd done most of the breaking up in his relationships, but that was like nothing he'd ever gone through before. The words were typical, but the way they were delivered, and the tone that accompanied them cut him as deep as anything ever had. Even finding out that his own mother could die sooner rather than later like he had always thought.

He couldn't believe that Hannah had just broken up with him. It's not like he had expected marriage or something, but he just didn't understand it. Why? What had he done but love her and support her? He thought for a moment. Usually he could pinpoint what stupid event had triggered a girl breaking up with him. He couldn't think of anything, other than not calling her for weeks. But that wasn't his fault, and he was sure she understood that since she seemed to be in the same boat.

He suddenly felt like a total girl. He wanted to talk to her, to figure this out, to talk to anyone, to understand this, to stop the griping pain from crushing his heart into a million pieces. But there was no one. Hannah was the only person he really talked to anymore. Ephram was unreachable on his little quest to find himself, and he wasn't gonna talk to Amy about it.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in." He muttered, ignoring it and still holding the phone in his hand.

"Bright, I wanted to talk to you." Harold entered the room and closed the door.

"About what?" He looked up, attempting to look coolly distant but not crushed as he felt.

"About your mother, but what is going on with you now? I see something else." He sat down on his bed, which was faced the chair in which Bright was seated.

"Nothing," he replied looking down at the floor.

"Don't give me that crap Bright. I've been your father for nearly twenty years. I think I know you a little better than you give me credit for. What's going on?"

Bright looked up and sighed.

"You know, Hannah? How I've been I guess dating her since she left at the end of the school year?"

"Yes, what about her," he asked.

"Well, I called her tonight because it had been like ages since the last time I did that. With Mom and all I had gotten kind of wrapped up in that and hadn't gotten around to it. So I called her tonight to apologize and tell her that I was sorry and that I was still interested in being her boyfriend, still interested in being there for her."

"Well," Harold looked at his son.

"And, well she pretty much dumped me. She told me that there was no reason to try and keep our pointless relationship going over all those hundreds of miles when all this other crap, well, she didn't say crap, but stuff was going on around us in our own families."

"Oh, Bright, I'm sorry." Harold looked up at his son. "You're really broken up by this aren't you? I've never seen you act like this with a girl before."

"Yeah well, Hannah was, Hannah was, special. Different, something I never thought I'd find amazingly fun, interesting and attractive but now that she's gone it's like I am not sure how to exist without her."

"Yeah, I know how you feel believe it or not. That's how I felt when I thought I was gonna lose your mother. That's how you feel when you really,"

"I get it Dad. Thanks." Bright interrupted him.

"Of course you do." Harold replied. "Well, I can talk to you about your mother in the morning. Get some sleep." He added as he left the room, shutting the door behind him.

* * *

"Hannah, honey, how is that Brighton boy? You never talk about him anymore?" Her mother asked, looking up from her crosswords.

She sighed.

"We're really not talking anymore. We've both got too much going on, thought it was better to focus on family." She replied getting up and going upstairs to her room. Her mother seemed a bit worried but returned to her book.

_Don't paint the silence black now save me,  
don't leave it a day_

He threw the phone down to the floor and smashed down hard onto his bed. He closed his eyes, hoping that the darkness would make all of this disappear. This is why he never got this close to a girl.

_You got a right to stand or die so maybe  
you take chances all the same  
_

Hannah gently slipped under the covers of her bed and clicked off her lamp. In the darkness of her room, she pondered if what she had done was the right thing. She had to spend time with her family now, in her home.

_  
Pain comes in stages  
if we don't make it  
_

It wasn't necessarily what he heart was telling her to do, but it was the sensible thing to do. Family was number one, Bright wasn't family and he wasn't dying. At this point that made him almost invisible to Hannah.

Nothing changes  
Nothing changes  
Nothing changes

_

* * *

A/N: I am just cranking these out, huh? lol. Lyrics in this one are by South and the song is called "Paint the Silence."_


	8. Domestication Hurts

A/N: I'd just like to make a small note that this chapter contains a little bit of coarse language in this chapter. Just a note, since there hasn't been a lot up till this point.

Hannah had dedicated this weekend to cleaning her room and not thinking about her father. She turned up the radio to keep thought from flowing through her head but it only served as background noise to all her feelings.

She picked up a few items from her dresser and her jewelry box fell to the floor, spilling its contents all over the floor.

"Crap."

She knelt down to brush them all inside. She picked up a few clips, the locket that her father had bought her for her fifth birthday, and a few pieces of paper. As she closed the box, she noticed the top item. Reopening it, she took the small strip of glossy paper gently in her hand. It was the photo booth photos Bright and she had taken at the fair on the fourth of July.

Tears began to well up behind her eyes and the memories came bounding back.  
----

"_Are you taking my job away from me already?" _She had asked, cutting carrots_. _

"No, it's just I feel bad. You had to do this stuff for your parents all the time, just doesn't seem right that you should have to do it for ours too." He replied biting into a carrot quarter.

"Seems right to me, I mean you guys have been like my family this whole year."  
----  
The Abbot's really had been. She rarely felt at home here anymore even if it was her home.

Wiping a tear which began to roll down her face, she replaced the pictures to where they had come from, only to discover a note. She unfolded it and realized that it was from him. The one letter he had written her after she had left. A few more tears dripped down and stained the page. She sniffled back a few more, but it was useless. She was gone, back to memories made five months ago.

_----  
"For a brief second, you saw it"_

_  
"Saw what?" _She had asked.

_  
"The future, or you know, the possibility of one. And damn, you called me on my crap which honestly no girl has ever done before. Which means you are way stronger and cooler than you think, which means you can't let this not knowing thing stop you from living your life, because God Hannah, your life is gonna rock!" _He smiled.

_  
"You think so?"_

_  
"Hell yeah, and this Topher thing, I don't know. Go out with him, don't go out with him, I don't know. But live your life out. Because you never know, ya know? I mean none of us know how long we're gonna be here. You've gotta treat every moment,"_

_  
"Like a gift?"_

_  
"Yeah, you can't give it up and you can't give it back because God Hannah, you are too good for that. Okay?"_

_  
"Okay." _She agreed.

_  
"Oh and ah, one more thing, don't ever say that it's unlikely that someone is gonna fall in love with you. Because they will, they will see all the things I see, and more. And unlike me they'll actually deserve you."_

_----_

She had to get outside, to get away from these memories. It was time for a break from her cleaning. She bounded down the stairs and out the front door, grabbing a jean jacket on the way out.

* * *

She straightened up a few college forms and leaned back in her chair, taking a deep breath. She wasn't really ready for that life. She was glad that she had decided to take the year off to be with her mother. Feeling a bit hungry, and somehow like she was being urged to go downstairs, she did.

Upon entering the living room, she found Bright sitting on his butt as he had been for the past few weeks each day since he Hannah had broken up with him. She rolled her eyes and sighed. Grabbing a Coke from the fridge she stood beside him.

* * *

She found a solid spot in the park to sit down on, near the edge of her favorite walking trail. The outdoors always helped her calm herself down, make sense of things.

The sun shone down on Hannah's auburn locks as she sat, butt on the hard pavement, staring at the ground. With her right hand, she fiddled with a stick she had found letting it make circles in the dirt. She noticed a small ant hill and the urge to put the stick in their and mush it all around surged over her. But she realized that that was the meanest thing she could ever do. Those poor ants hadn't done anything. They had only tried to live their lives, and she in her awesome size and power had contemplated changing their lives forever. They would have scattered, those that survived, and never found each other again. These little insignificant ants worked together. They needed each other, supported one another as they worked toward a common purpose; building a life.

She sighed, realizing she'd made a mistake, a big one. She had no right to play God. She wasn't him. He'd brought Bright into her life to support her, to help her build a life after all the trials she had gone through with her own disease and with her Dad's. Who was she to push him away, to tell him that she didn't need him? She did. What was she thinking?

She stood up straight and jogged back towards her house as fast as she could. Her hands shook as she picked up the phone and dialed the numbers that she knew so well, implanted in her mind and heart forever.

* * *

"Hey," Amy whispered sitting down next to him on the couch. He held the remote for the T.V. in his hand, a glazed over countenance. He was a wreck. "Bright!" She snapped in his ear.

"Oh, hey Ame," He weakly offered. He flipped the channel a few times.

"Bright, what the hell is wrong with you? You are like the biggest player ever. Why are you not out scamming on some random girl? This is not the big brother I have come to know and love. Normally I don't approve of your sleazy attitude toward women but you have gotta stop this crap, seriously." She crossed her arms and stared straight at the T.V., looking like she could kill a few hundred baby puppies at the drop of a hat.

"That's just it Amy, I don't know. I should be out at a party somewhere hitting on the next girl in the line of hot, blonde things that I have. Telling her how beautiful her eyes are and how softer her skin is so I can get some action."

"I can't believe I'm advocating this-God, but why are you not?" She turned back to him, fixing her icy cold stare back at him.

"I told you, I don't know. Hannah did something to me. She made me defective or something." He got up and went into the kitchen to make a sandwich.

"Defective, Bright?"

"Yeah, like I don't wanna go find some random girl. It doesn't really appeal to me anymore just to go find some bimbo to get laid by. I'm such a pussy."

"It's called love Bright." Amy smiled, her face breaking from anger.

"What?" He asked.

"You are in love with Hannah. You care about more than just the physical appearance now and what you really want is the emotional connection, the familiarity that she brings." Amy laughed, sipping her Coke. "You've finally been domesticated."

"Christ, I know Amy but now she doesn't want to talk to me and I don't know any other girls well enough to have that with them."

"Well, that's life. Sometimes it fucking hurts." She lounged back now, almost amused by the situation.

"How can you quote when I'm in a situation like this?" He snapped.

"It's true." She mumbled picking up the remote and switching it to something else. The phone rang, Bright continued to make his sandwich. It rang again, and again. "Are you gonna get that?" She asked looking up.

He walked over to the telephone on the kitchen wall and picked it up. Without too much enthusiasm he answered.

"Hello, Abbot's, this is Bright."


	9. To You From Me, Waiting For It To Be

To: brightballdude27  
From: hannahbanana006  
Wednesday, July 20th, 2005 10:17 am  
Subject: How I feel

Bright-  
I'm sorry about all the things that happened since the 4th of July. I know we're working through this, but I just wanted to make it solid. Getting my feelings out on paper, in this case a computer screen, make me feel like it's more real. I don't know where my head was. You were there for me when I didn't really know anyone in Everwood and everything was going on with my family. You allowed me into your heart and that isn't something you did for many other girls, I know. I've never known a guy like you, Bright. I hope when I come back in September that you'll be able to forgive me.

Hannah

-----------------------

To: hannahbanana006   
From: brightballdude27  
Friday, July 22nd, 2005 11:29 pm  
Subject: Re: How I feel

Oh, Hannah. How long do you think I could actually stay mad at you? Sorry, it took me a bit to reply.

But, like you said I've never let a girl know me like you do. It's weird and I'm not quite sure how to deal with it sometimes but Amy says that's the way love is. I can't wait for you to come back. September can't come any sooner.

Brighton

-------------------------   
To: brightballdude27  
From: hannahbanana006  
Monday, August 1st, 2005 8:36pm  
Subject: I'm really bad at thinking of subject titles…

Things got worse with my Dad today Bright. It's almost as if he's a totally different person. He doesn't remember me or my Mom or anyone for that matter and the doctors really don't know what else to do for him. This sucks, Bright. Life sucks.

This is really taught me that you've gotta hold on tight to those people you love. You never know when they'll be gone.

Here I am complaining about my own problems when you have yours to deal with. How is your mom?

Love,  
Hannah

-----------------------

To: hannahbanana006  
From: brightballdude27  
Tuesday, August 2nd, 2005 4:55pm  
Subject: Sorry about everything

Hey Hannah.  
I'm sorry that things are not going so hot with your Dad. That totally sucks. If you wanna talk about it more, give me a call. You know you always can. You know the number.

My mom is actually doing better. Doctor Brown's surgery seems to have worked out. With a little luck, or a little prayer depending on what you believe, she'll make a good recovery. It will be a long road, but she might be out of the woods thanks to Dr. Brown.

What else is going on in your life? Anything new and exciting?

Thinking of you,  
Bright

-------------------------   
To: brightballdude27  
From: hannahbanana006  
Sunday, August 14th, 2005 12:45pm  
Subject: Re: Sorry about everything

Hi Bright-  
I'm so glad to hear that things are working out well with your family. I miss you all so much. I don't feel like Minnesota is my home anymore. Your family and Everwood are my home. I know that must sound awful and I'm sure I've told you that before, but its how I feel. There is nothing to do here but live in this strange house, and attend to my Dad.

Most of my friends have totally forgotten about me since I was gone for a year, and most are at camps or on vacations anyway. You, Amy and Ephram are like the only people I ever talk to anymore. I miss you guys SO much. Thankfully I only have 17 days left till my flight for Denver.

I'll be here until then.

Hannah

-----------------------

To: hannahbanana006  
From: brightballdude27  
Monday, August 22nd, 2005 6:05pm  
Subject: Re:Re:Sorry about everything

Hannah  
Amy and I miss you too. Neither of us has really heard from Ephram in a while, but hopefully he's finding what he wants to.

It's understandable that your life has changed so much in the last year. It's not weird to feel out of place in your house, really. I get it. You aren't in a great place right now in your life and you need to figure yourself out. Heck, I know what that's like. Believe me; I spent my entire 4 years of high school doing that. Don't cut yourself off from people though, we can help you. I'm here whenever, you know that by now.

My family is attempting some kind of vacation in Florida to celebrate my mom and her feeling better. The doctors finally Okayed it. So, we're gonna be gone the next week. If you want or need to call, call my cell phone, okay?

Quicker than you can imagine it'll be September. Hang in there, okay kiddo?

Love you,  
Bright.

-----------------------

_comatose, comatose, here I stand  
with my heart in a song and my head in the sand_

Hannah finished reading his email and closed down Internet Explorer. She turned up her radio and began taking her clothes out of the dresser and packing them in her suitcases. She had only a little over a week left. It would be the longest week of her life, she just  
knew.

_I'm not giving up, I don't wanna try  
and I'm not really crying, it's sand in my eyes_


	10. Destination: Denver or Bust

--------  
As Hannah's flight approached the Denver airport, she couldn't stop her heart from racing.

On the one hand she was a little afraid to see Bright because of all the awkwardness she had caused in trying to cut herself off from him, but on the other she was amazingly excited to see him. It was not a feeling she could explain very well, except that she guess this was what love felt like.

Bright had become her best friend, and being separated from your best friend for like three and a half months, is not the greatest feeling even if you do have the phone and the internet. It's never the same as seeing someone in person. Being able to hold their hand or just see their smile when you talk to them.

She rolled up her tiny bag of carrots and placed them back in her carry-on backpack. They were landing. She took a deep breath and mentally prepared herself for the moment she'd been waiting for, for so many months.

--------  
It was September 1st and Bright was behind the wheel of his pickup truck with Amy in the passenger seat along side him. This was the day he'd see Hannah again. The two had nearly reached the airport when Amy finally said something, breaking the silence which had lasted for over an hour.

"What are you gonna do when you see her?"

"I'm not sure. I guess I hadn't thought that far ahead."

"What does your gut instinct tell you to do? If you could do anything without repercussion or rejection, what would it be?"

"Amy, don't ask a guy that question." Bright looked over at her, confused. She smacked his arm.

"I mean it. Seriously, Bright," she scolded.

"I guess I'd just go up to her, pick her up like I did before she left and just kiss her."

"Then do it."

"It's more complicated than that. You know what it's like Ame."

"I do, and look where the complication has got me? My boyfriend ran away to England because I didn't tell him that I knew about, well you know the whole thing."

"Yeah."

"Just be honest with her. Talk to her, work whatever you have out between each other out and move on with your lives. Because love, or whatever you have together is too good to let go."

"Thanks, Ame. I won't let it go. I promise." He smiled, feeling a little bit better about the whole thing.  
--------  
The walk down the concourse to the entrance to the airport was dark and it caused Hannah to think again about what would happen when she reached the end of that tunnel. Questions ran through her head helter-skelter. What was she gonna say? What was she gonna do? What would he do when he saw her? She had no more time to think as the sounds of the airport flooded all around her.

The crowd of people seemed to go on for miles in front of her. She took a breath and as stupid as she felt, breathed in the Colorado air. It felt familiar. The noise of people meeting each other, and looking for one another in this mass of bodies bombarded her again.

"Hannah!" She heard her name shouted from somewhere within the crowd.

She stopped and looked around, but all she saw were people who were complete strangers to her. Then a group of people off to her left split in opposite directions and she spotted Amy standing near a group of chairs in a waiting area. Her steps quickened, and a smile spread across her face as Amy's face did the same thing.

"Hannah!" Amy shouted again. "Welcome home. It's amazing to see you." The two embraced. 

"Oh, you don't know how glad I am to see you, Amy." She smiled, pushing up her glassed cutely.

"There will be plenty of time to catch up Hannah." Amy smiled. "How was your flight?"

"Oh it was fine. I'm getting used to planes now that I've been going back and forth. Wasn't too boring since I brought a few books that I picked up a while ago."

There was a slight pause in the conversation as they both stood staring at each other, smiling.

"So, have you talked to Ephram lately?" Hannah asked, attempting to keep the conversation alive.

"Um, no we aren't really on the best of terms. I haven't seen him or talked to him since he left." Hannah nodded understandingly; her eyes seeming to apologize for asking that question. It was all she could think to ask though. She hadn't wanted to ask this question but she really wanted to know the answer.

"Where's Bright?" She asked, squinching her face awkwardly.

"He said he had to go to the bathroom or something. It's been like ten minutes though; I don't know what he's doing." She gestured with her hands in question. Amy looked behind over her shoulder at where she had left him. "Here he comes now." She replied.

Hannah looked up front her backpack, which she had been rummaging through to put away her I-Pod. Bright was walking down the corridor toward them. 

"Hey," his trademark, goofy yet cute smile lit up his face.

"Hi," Hannah smiled back and looked down at her shoes.

"You look amazing, like it hasn't been three months." He was realizing how much easier it was to talk to her on the phone or through email, when Amy jabbed him in the side. "Hey," he stepped forward and lifted Hannah's head up gently by her chin. "I got these for you." He moved his other arm from behind his back, revealing a big bunch of carnations.

"Bright!" She gasped, smiling widely and taking them. "They are beautiful. I love carnations. How did you know?" She asked.

"I didn't. Roses were just really expensive." He admitted, sheepishly.

"Well, I love carnations. These are great. I always thought roses were overrated, all thorny and expensive." She beamed, realizing that she was rambling.

The three stood there in silence, a bit uncomfortable for a minute or two.

"Oh for goodness sake, just talk already." Amy threw up her arms. "I'll be waiting in the car." She turned and walked away.

"Bright. I," she started, looking straight into his eyes.

"No, Hannah. What happened, it's over. Done with, finished." He nodded.

"Really," she asked, half-mumbled, looking up at him.

"I get it. You're head was in a weird place. I know how that is." He paused. "Really."

Hannah's heart almost exploded with delight. She flung herself into his arms. He picked her up in embrace. She was just as light as he remembered.

"Bright, I missed you." She whispered breathing a deep sigh of relief and happiness, faced buried in his shoulder. He set her down and looked at her.

"God, Hannah you have no idea how much I missed you." He replied before bending down to take her lips with his just like he'd done outside of Nina's before she left. His kisses were rushed, like he needed to make up for all the time he'd missed with her this summer. She pulled back suddenly.

"Hey," she exclaimed as Bright opened his eyes. "We've got plenty of time." She smiled. He scoffed, realizing what she meant. She stood on her tiptoes and placed a gentle, slow kiss on his lips. And then another. His arms wrapped around her waist. She returned to her original height, took his right hand in hers and they walked to claim her luggage.

"You know, I expected this to be harder or weirder than it was. Coming back and not really being sure of how we were." She commented. "But this was good." She glanced at her flowers in her right hand.

"We could go back and I could be really mad, and tell you I never want to see you again." He smiled.

"Shut up! You're not that good an actor, I wouldn't believe you." She bumped against him, almost pushing him into a woman going the other direction. "Ooh!" She giggled. "Sorry."

He squeezed her hand harder. "I almost forgot why I love you so much." He replied. "You're so fun." He added, doing that almost sarcastic face squishing thing he did when he pretended to be a dork. Hannah loved it. She figured he didn't need to pretend too much, he was after all a dork at heart. On the outside he was this big, strong jock guy but inside he was something else. He was a dork, just like her. He wasn't that persona that he put on for other people when he was with her.

When he was with her, he was something real. The guy she could watch stupid movies with and make stupid remarks about those movies. The guy who cared to listen when no one else would, the guy whose shoulder was the best place to cry into and the guy who saw her like she never thought anyone would, beautiful.

Oh, it was good to be back.  
--------

A/N: Please R&R. I really need feedback. I know more people are reading this than are reviewing because I can see the page stats thanks to awesome new features. So please if you have been reading and haven't reviewed yet, just tell me what you think, please? One minute is all it will take. This will most likely be the last chapter, although I could do more with it. Capped it off nicely though, in case I don't. Thanks for reading.


	11. Love's Logic

A/N: Well, I'm back. And so is this story. I know I said that the previous chapter would be the last, but there is another whole month or more of Everwoodless time in my life, so there is no way I could give up writing this. For my own sanity and enjoyment, and for that of others. I am still looking for a direction for this, so this chapter is a little...light. But, we'll see what happens. Enjoy and please review. Oh and P.S. I know nothing about math, so whatever. lol

* * *

"What's the square root of the derivative of 95?" Hannah asked, looking up from her textbook as she lay atop her bed, studying. Bright was on her computer checking his emails and catching up with some online college stuff. 

"How should I know? I'm the hunky young jock, who everyone thinks is shallow, but really turns out to have a good moral character and heart of gold. You're the smart one, remember Hannah?" He spun in the chair to face her.

She looked up, his eyes sparkled under the small glasses and she pushed back a few strands of long brown hair. "I'm also the cute one." She smiled, watching him spin in circles.

"Can't argue with that logic," he agreed, stopping the spinning chair and almost wanting to go kiss her before remembering that he still had work to finish. Kissing her would start a chain reaction that might be hindering to actual productive homework completion. "How is senior year so far?" He asked, refocusing.

"It's fine." She mumbled.

"Got any colleges in mind? Going back to Minnesota?"

"Bright, it's still September. I don't need to decide yet." She replied, still buried in her work. "I don't want to go back to Minnesota, that's for sure. Colorado State is nice."

"Well, I missed the boat. I just don't want you to do the same thing."

"You turned out fine."

"I could have been finer, if I went to college." He spun again.

"Nothing says that some piece of paper is gonna make you any smarter, or any better a person than you are now, or you will be when you get to the end of whatever alternate path you've chosen." She slammed her book shut and hopped over it to the end of her bed. "I like you just the way you are." She grinned.

"You do, do you?" He rolled closer to her.

"Mmhm," she smiled, their lips nearly touching. He took her left hand with his right and moved to sit next to her on the bed. He closed his hands around her face softly as they exchanged hurried, but deep kisses. The only thing he could think of right then was how soft her lips were, and how they tasted of Dr. Pepper lip gloss. It was tasty.

"Oh! When will I learn to knock?" Amy exclaimed in surprise, pushing open the door to find them in their current positions. "Forget I exist, please." She turned around and left.

They stopped long enough to see her leave. Hannah shot him a glance, and began laughing. He smiled and silenced her laughter with his kisses.

"Bright, I should get some sleep." She stopped.

"Who needs sleep? Sleep when you're dead. Right now what you are doing is fine."

"Seriously Bright," she took his hand and led him to the door. "I told Amy I would help her with some important business tomorrow." She replied leaning on the wooden door.

"Does that business involve my dad's credit card and several hundred various outfitters, retailers and department stores?" He smiled.

"It might." She replied coyly.

"Well, I don't want to keep you up, further contributing to the deadly syndrome known as ESF, or early shopping fatigue."

"It's a killer." She giggled.

"Goodnight." He turned and waved.

"Goodnight Bright." She replied.

-------------------

"Do you like this one?" Amy asked, holding up a jean mini-skirt.

"It's kinda short, don't you think?" Hannah bit her lip, her hands still moving hangers out of the way looking for the perfect top.

"Maybe," Amy looked at it again, considering and mentally measuring. She added it to her armful of clothes after a minute of consideration.

"Are you sure it's okay with your Dad, you paying for my stuff?"

"Of course its okay, Hannah. You're like family, you know that. Besides you can't go your whole senior year in the same clothes you wore last year. We aren't buying you a whole wardrobe, anyway, just a few key items." Amy continued shopping.

"I'm thinking about applying at the burger barn to make some money for stuff and college next year." She commented.

"Bright worked there for a while a few years back. It's not the best job ever."

"Yeah, well. I doubt any part-time job is gonna make me happy, so I figure I'll take what I can get."

"Good for you, Hannah." She nodded approvingly. "Are you ready to try on?"

"Yep," she nodded. The pair headed in to the dressing rooms. Something of a movie musical montage then occurred as each emerged with a new item of clothing on, jumping around giddily, modeling it, while the other one critiqued it from the sidelines.

A half hour later they had made their purchases.

"Smoothies?" Amy turned to Hannah. She nodded.

In the food court, the vendor handed the girls their smoothies. "Thanks." Hannah responded. "Oh, excuse me." She mumbled as she bumped into someone turning around.

"Well, fancy seeing you two here!" A familiar voice exclaimed.

"Don't you have anything better to do than to stalk us, Bright? I mean I know I'm your sister and Hannah's your girlfriend who is practically attached to you at the hip, but can't we just hang alone for even like, two hours?"

"We are not attached at the hip, see?" He put his hand between his hip and the air, revealing no connection. "And for your information it's been like five hours, not two. Plus it's a Saturday, what better do I have to do than go to the mall? It's a big place, free country Ames. Sorry that I just happened to run into you." He rolled his eyes.

"It's kinda cute that you wanna hang out with us," Hannah replied grabbing his hand. Amy fell back as the two took the lead, walking past stores. "Ooh! Victoria's Secret. Amy, do you want to go in?" She signaled.

"Totally, they have a great sale going on this month."

"Come on Bright." Hannah grabbed his hand.

"No, I think I'll shop by myself for a while. Shall we meet at the food court again, say at five-thirty? Grab a bite to eat before we leave?"

"Sounds excellent," Hannah smiled.

"See ya later, Bright." Amy giggled.

"Bye girls." He gave Hannah a peck on the cheek.  
-------------------

"God, I hate this movie. Remind me again why we picked this?" Bright crossed his arms vindictively.

"We didn't. Amy and I did. It's a chick-flick. We warned you, you didn't have to stay here." Hannah giggled.

"Well, what was I supposed to do? Like the only people I hang out with anymore are down here watching this crap."

"Shut up Bright!" Amy threw popcorn at him. "If you don't like Notting Hill then get out off the living room. We don't allow Notting Hill haters in here." She added, still watching the screen.

Hannah shot him a pouting-cute look. He rolled his eyes and smiled. He just caved whenever she did that. "Thank you." She mouthed and smiled back.

"Oh! They're gonna kiss!" Amy squealed. Hannah perked her attention up again, focusing on the screen. Just as their lips met, her cell phone started vibrating. "Oh." She exclaimed looking at the number on the display. "I'm gonna answer this. Keep watching." She mumbled, running out of the room. "Hello," Hannah heard her say faintly.

"What was up with that?" Bright asked.

Hannah shrugged. "No idea." She replied. He put his arm around her shoulder. She snuggled into it, curling her feet up onto the sofa. "Is this really so bad?"

"Not anymore," he answered, admiring her.  
-------------------

"What the hell are you doing calling me?" She whispered sharply into the phone.

The voice on the other line responded.

"Where are you? Why would you call me right now?" She interrogated.

The voice responded with a longer explanation this time.

"I don't know if I can talk to you right now, okay? I'm not ready." She sighed. "Give me a little while, alright?"

The voice replied shortly and she flipped her phone shut.

She leaned on the island in the kitchen and ran her right hand through her blonde hair. Her lungs released a deep sigh and she bit her lip, deep in contemplation.

Bright burst into the kitchen in usual fashion, carrying the empty popcorn bowl, and put a new bag in the microwave before noticing her. "What was up with the phone call?"

"Nothing," she mumbled.

"Who was it?" He asked, further pursuing the topic.

Amy looked up, almost in tears, and sighed. "Ephram," she replied.

-------------------


	12. The Pivotal Piece

He can see the payphone through the small window which lights the tiny room that he rents in a big brick building on the streets of this moderate sized British town. He's not even sure what it's called. He has an address written down somewhere, incase someone wanted to write to him.

The payphone is the phone that he called Amy from. He paced back and forth in that tiny room before he got the courage up to go down to the street and use it.

Now, as he sat in this dark living space, he began to think about his being here. He'd left Everwood for this? To get away from all of his problems. What good had it done? He'd been here months and nothing was really settled. He hadn't worked anything out in his head; he'd just hidden from it in his little dark room.

He'd realized at that moment that he needed to talk to Amy. To hear her voice, and remember, remember what it was like to be him. She had helped him discover himself before. But it was clear that what he had done to her, in getting Madison pregnant and in leaving, had left her broken and confused. 

He picked up the pen and began to write. All his feelings, all his thoughts, unspoken or realized until now began to pour out onto the page in a letter which began:

_Dear Amy,_

and ended with simply his name. He found the scrap of paper on which he had written his address and sealed the envelope.

He walked past the payphone, opened the door on the little red box and deposited his letter. He glanced at his watch on the way back to his place of living. It was a quarter to three in the afternoon. His shift at the "club" across town would start in forty-five minutes. He sighed as he trudged up the stairs and prepared for another day.  
----------  
"Is Amy weird lately, or am I imagining it?" Hannah asked looking up from her homework. This was her nightly routine sitting at the Abbot's kitchen counter doing work with Bright and spending time together.

He looked up at her. He tapped his pencil on his book contemplating whether or not he should tell her.

"Hannah, I don't know if she'd want me to tell you. You should ask her."

"Bright, what kind of answer is that? It's not like I'm gonna spread it all over. If something is wrong with Amy I deserve to know. She's like a sister to me." She turned to face him.

"Well, that call she got when we were watching Notting Hill last week, do you remember that?" 

"Yes. What about it?"

"It was Ephram." He replied bluntly.

"Oh for Pete's sake! That's what's wrong? I thought she was dying or something." Hannah looked back down at her paper. "I mean, I know that sucks that he brought back terrible feelings, but you freaked me out."

"Sorry," he replied with his puppy dog inflection. The mailman made the mailbox on the side of the house click and Bright heard the noise. It had been his favorite sound all summer and now he was addicted to checking it, even if there was nothing to get from Hannah anymore. "Mail is here. I'll be right back." He walked into the living room.

Hannah stared back down at her paper. She couldn't think of the right word she wanted to use for this paragraph. It was the most pivotal part of the paper, and she was stuck.

"Bill, bill, advertisement, bill, bill, newsletter," Bright sounded off each piece of mail's identity as he glanced at it. "Bill, bill, weird letter, bill," he continued.

"Wait, weird letter?" Hannah looked up again.

"Yeah, some weird looking thing from no address with Amy's name on it."

"There's no return address on it. Well, there is but there is no name and it's a weird format."

"That's your favorite word, isn't it? What do you mean by weird? Let me see." She requested. He handed it to her. "This is an English address." She exclaimed.

"I know it's in English Hannah, I'm not dumb." He snatched the letter from her hands.

"No, it's English. It's from Britain." She corrected.

He stared at her in a moment of silence. She stared back, wondering if he'd come to the conclusion on his own, or if she'd have to point it out to him.

"Ephram?" He suddenly exclaimed.

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking." She replied.

"Hey all, what's going on?" Amy came bursting into the kitchen. Bright hid the letter behind his back, his expression, one of guilt. Hannah tried to act normal.

"Oh, just finishing some homework," she trailed off pathetically trying to cover up what they had just been talking about.

"Oh, the mail came!" She noticed. She leafed through the pieces lying on the counter. "Nothing for me, typical." She opened the fridge. 

Hannah motioned to Bright to give Amy the letter he had still concealed. He shook his head, and she nodded in disagreement. She pushed him a bit towards her.

"Actually, Amy there was something that came for you." He mumbled.

"Really, let me see it." She took a bit of the banana she had selected from the fruit assortment. He handed it to her.

Her eyes skimmed the lettering on the front, confirming that it was for her. Then they bounced to the left top corner to see who it was from. She recognized it immediately.  
"Oh no," was the phrase which escaped her lips.

"Amy, you don't have to open it, you know?" Hannah reassured her.

She threw her banana, mostly uneaten, in the trashcan and ran out of the kitchen. Her footsteps were quite loud as she ran up the wooden stairs to her room, slamming her door behind her.

"Well, I gotta get going. I work at five. Make sure she's okay Bright." Hannah stood on her tiptoes to kiss him. 

"I'll talk to her." He replied as she opened the back door.  
----------  
_Dear Amy,_

I know what I did tore you apart. Getting Madison pregnant, the way you found out, and the way I left.

I am so sorry.

A lot goes on in a guy's head when he finds out that his father and ex-girlfriend have been hiding a pregnancy and a baby from him. I can't imagine what knowing that must have been like for you. I was mad that you knew and didn't tell me, but I know that you were only thinking of my best interests. I didn't know how to deal with it all as you probably get, so I had to leave.

_But now I find myself sitting in this dingy little apartment, realizing that you were the only thing that kept me sane in the first place. When I got to Everwood to begin with you were the reason, the only one I had, to stay; the chance of being with you. Now I've gone and screwed that up. Running away was the only thing that made sense at the time, but now I have no clue why I am here. _

_I miss you Amy. _

_I miss familiar people. You, Hannah, Delia, and Bright, for God sake, I miss him. I think I'm gonna try and come home soon. I've got to tie up my loose ends here, and then I'll be on the next plane home. You can write me at this address if you want to. I don't know when I'll be leaving, but maybe I'll call you again from the payphone just down the street before I leave._

_I still have no idea what I am gonna do with my life, but I know this is not where I belong. Whether where I am supposed to be is Everwood or somewhere else, I don't know. All I know is, I need to make things right with us. You're a special and amazing girl, Amy Abbott. I love you._

_Missing you,_

_Ephram Brown_

At this point, she was in tears. The steady stream of droplets beginning to dampen the pillow she was laying her head on. She buried her face in it.

"Amy," Bright knocked lightly on her door and opened it.

----------_  
_  
"Welcome to Burger Barn, how may I help you?"

"Hey Hannah! Can I get two double cheeseburgers, a diet coke, a mountain dew, and two orders of curly fries?"

"Bright?" She exclaimed. She hadn't expected him to be in the drive through.

"Yeah," he replied through the fuzzy sounding speaker.

"Anything else?" She asked, returning to her actually work related topics.

"Nope"

"You're total comes to $13.55. Please pull up to the next window." She adjusted her red and yellow Burger Barn hat which sat atop a mass of curls. Bright pulled up to the window beside her. The automatic doors opened and she stuck her head out. "Hey," she replied.

"Hey. I'm getting fatty food for my depressed and confused sister." He handed her a twenty dollar bill.

"Oh, excellent choice," she laughed. A moment later she returned with his change. 

"Thanks," he replied. "Do you get off soon? You know how to handle her better than me, being that you are, ya know, a girl."

"I get off at nine. I can come over after that if you want? Does she want me to?"

"Yeah. Bring stuff to stay over night, and a pint of ice cream. She's in rough shape."

"Alright, see you then." She smiled and waved as he moved to the next window.  
----------

A/N: Please, please, please review if you are still reading this. I need feedback and reinforcement to keep writing. Thanks!


	13. Be The Man

A/N: So, I'm gonna apologize for the lackage of Bright/Hannah content in the last few chapters. I don't know what to do with them. I'm gonna try and get some on this Amy stuff out of the way. Bear with me. I got us into this mess, now I have to get us out. And I promise this chapter has some good stuff in it. ;) 

----------   
"Amy! As enticing and fun as alcohol may seem right now, you are gonna regret it later." Hanna chased after Amy as she carried away a glass of beer.

"Oh Hannah, what would you know?" Amy was already on her way to being quite sloshed. Hannah hadn't been watching when she'd had two others. They fought their way through the crowds of people.

"I came with you to this party because I thought getting out and hanging out with people might help you get over Ephram."

"And I am. This glass here makes all my worries go away till tomorrow morning." She stuck the blue cup in Hannah's face. "Just because you are a little party pooper, all innocent and whatnot doesn't mean I can't have fun. I can hold a little alcohol, don't you think? Go find someone to hang out with; you don't have to baby-sit me. I can handle myself."

"Fine," Hannah huffed and stormed out of the party.  
----------  
When Amy came to she opened her eyes and looked up. She realized after a moment that she was flat on her back on a bed. She blinked a few times. Her head was killing her. She pressed her hand against it, and grimaced. She attempted to sit up but it didn't quite work. Her world was still spinning.

"Hey, how ya doing?" A guy's voice echoed in her ears. It was like he was screaming.

"Who are you?" She turned her head towards the source of the sound. He was attractive. Dark brown hair, dark eyes, fairly tall from what she could guess even if he was sitting down.

"Brad. I just couldn't let you stay down there on the floor. We were dancing down there and you kinda fell over. Overdid it on the drinks, huh?"

"Long story, what time is it?" She grimaced again and brushed a hand over her blonde hair, splayed out on the bed.

"I'd say its early morning, probably four o'clock." He smiled.

"How long have I been out?" She asked.

"A couple hours." He replied.

"You didn't need to stay. I appreciate-ouch-," she sat up, "-I appreciate you even bothering in the first place." 

"Well, I don't usually drink at these things so I figured I should. Do you need a ride or something, Amy?"

She nodded. It was odd that he knew her name, but then she kind of remembered meeting him before they danced.

"Amy! I finally found you; I've been wandering around this house for like an hour." Hannah burst in the door.

"Hannah? What are you doing here? You left hours ago!"

"Yeah, I was really annoyed with you. But then I realized how awful it was for me to just leave you here. I came back an hour ago because I couldn't sleep. What are you doing up here?"

"Well, I don't really know. Ask Brad." She replied a bit sarcastically, and pointed at him.

Brad got up and approached Hannah.

"She was dancing with me and I could tell that she was pretty wasted. She collapsed and I brought her up here. She's been out ever since. She only came to a few minutes ago." He explained and turned back to Amy.

"Well, don't look at me, I don't remember."

"Thanks for taking care of her. That was super nice of you, Brad."

"No problem." He smiled at both girls. "Well, I better be getting out of here. It was nice to meet you Amy." He waved and left the room, shutting the door behind him. Hannah sat down on the bed.

"You okay, Amy?" Her timid voice questioned.

"Yeah, I'm just a little hung-over."

"Come on, let's get you home before your parents find out that you've been drunk all night and not home." She offered her hand and Amy took it.  
----------  
Hannah awoke the next morning to a ticking noise. She stirred. The sun was up, but she was tired from the night before. She looked at her alarm clock. It was almost eleven o'clock. The ticking continued. She looked around, confused. The noise came from her window. She got up, wrapped herself in a robe and opened it.

Looking down, she recognized the blurry figure as Bright.

"Hey sleepyhead, it's time to get up!" He beamed.

"Hi," she smiled even if she was still a bit groggy, "what are you doing here?"

"I wanna spend the day with you. It's Saturday, ya know have fun?"

"Sure, that sounds nice. Let me take I shower quickly."

"I'll be on the porch." He replied as she shut the window.

She showered quickly, dressed and came downstairs.

"Hey Hannah, you really slept in today." Nina was cooking something in the kitchen.

"Yeah, it's a long story." She looked around in the closet for her jean jacket.

"I think there's a boy waiting for you on the porch."

"Yeah, Bright and I are doing something today. I probably won't be home for dinner. See ya!" She grabbed an apple on her way out. Nina just smiled.

"Hey!" Bright greeted her, getting up from the porch swing and kissing her on the cheek.

"Oh hey, it's okay, sit down a minute." She replied. "What's all this about?"

"Well, Amy told me about last night, and I got down to thinking, and I realized that I don't appreciate you enough."

"What?" She laughed.

"Well, before we started going out I was all "you're not good enough for me" and whatnot, but I think I've started taking you for granted. I love that you are best friends with my little sister and take care of her when she does stupid stuff, like get drunk and pass out."

"Bright," she cut in.

"I love that you are over at my house like everyday, and are practically family. I love your smile and I love your laugh and the fact that you are the most decent and beautiful person I know. God, I sound like a greeting card right now, but I mean it. I am so lucky."

"Bright," she was in tears as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders in a hug. He stroked her hair. After a moment she got up. "Well, what is our fun filled day gonna be fun filled with?" She asked.

"Mini-golf?" He offered, raising and eyebrow as well is the inflection in his voice. She nodded and smiled.   
----------  
Amy's hangover was just going away as she sipped her French Vanilla coffee, sitting in her kitchen.

No one was home. The parents were off at some appointment, and she wasn't sure where Bright was, but she knew he wasn't home.

In front of her was Ephram's letter. She fiddled with the edges of it. It had been over a week since she'd gotten it now. Part of her wanted to desperately to have him back, and another part was madder than hell at him and never wanted to talk to him again.

She took another sip. The clock on the wall ticked. It ticked again, and again and again. She just sat there listening to it. Her phone, across the counter, started to vibrate. She rushed to catch it before it vibrated itself off the counter. She read the screen. It was the payphone number.

"Hello," she answered. There was silence on the other end for a moment. "Hello?"

"You have no idea how much I've missed hearing your voice."

"Ephram, I don't know if this is going to work."

"Amy, I know. I just, I can't describe to you how I'm feeling. I never thought I'd miss everyone this much. Never thought I'd miss you this much. I know this all sucks for you, everything, but I love you Amy. That didn't change when I found out about Madison and the baby. Yes, I wigged out, but I still loved you."

"Ephram, you cannot play with my emotions like this. I won't let you! I tried so hard to make us work. I tried so hard to keep you from knowing about Madison because I knew it would ruin us. I loved you too. Now, I'm just confused." She slammed herself down onto the couch.

"Well, I have to finish working here. I have a few more weeks left that I agreed to here at this piano bar, club thing, but after that I am coming home. I want to figure us out, okay?" His voice was hopeful, and loving.

"Yeah, I guess." She sighed. 

"I'll see you soon." He replied and the receiver clicked. He was gone again.  
----------  
"That was fun. I never knew I was such a good putter."

"You demolished me, Hannah. That was awesome." He parked the truck and they went inside the Abbott's house. Amy was still on the sofa, watching TV. Her laptop was sitting next to her.   
"Hey, you okay?" Hannah asked her.

"Yeah," she faked a smile. "Just watching a little reality TV."

"Come on, let's go." Bright grabbed Hannah by the hand and pulled her upstairs. 

They were kissing by the time they got up the stairs. She sat down on his bed.

"Bright, I had fun today," she spoke between kisses. "What you said was so sweet. I don't feel like you don't appreciate me though." She kissed him again. "Although, it was nice to just spend a day having fun and not thinking about life," she finished.

"Good," he replied pressing his lips to hers again. He placed his hand on her cheek, cupping her face.  
Soon his hands were everywhere. She felt his right one slip under the back of her shirt and fumble with the clasp of her bra. Her eyes popped open and she pushed him off with a mighty force that she didn't expect to have in her.

"What the heck was that, Bright?" She was almost screaming. "Is that why you did all this? You wanted to get me in bed?" She was furious and scared at the same time.

"No," he denied. 

"God, I can't believe that I believed for one second that you had changed, that you were different than before. You're no different; I'm just another one of those sluts to you. You know how I feel about this, Bright! Ahhhh!" She screamed and ran out of the room.

"Hannah, that's not what today was about!" He yelled out his door to her as she bounded downstairs. He flung himself down on the bed and sighed. He felt like a moron, a jerk, and a horny pervert all at once. That was a new low for him.  
----------  
Amy muted the commercials and got up to get a soda. When she returned she glanced down at her computer.

There was a new instant message from _btheman._  
_  
btheman_: **Hey Amy, this is Brad. Remember me, from the party?**

She smiled and typed a response.  
_  
Amy05_: **Hey Brad! How are you? Thanks again for everything you did at the party.**

They continued their conversation.

_btheman_: **Like I said, it was no problem.  
**_Amy05_: **Well, I do appreciate it though. It was so considerate of you.  
**_btheman_: **That's me, Mr. Considerate. Lol!  
**_Amy05_: **Apparently:)  
**_btheman_: **What are you doing tomorrow night?  
**_Amy05_: **I don't know. What am I doing tomorrow night?  
**_btheman_: **You're going out with me.  
**_Amy05_: **Really? **  
_btheman_: **Yep, I'm picking you up at six, and we are gonna grab a bite to eat and then go see a movie.** **  
**_Amy05_: **Well, that sounds like fun  
**_btheman_: **Great! So I'll see you then?  
**_Amy05_: **Yeah! See you then.  
**_btheman_: **Bye Amy!  
**_Amy05_: **Bye Brad.  
-------------------------  
**btheman has logged off at 19:34:05****

Amy looked up at the TV again. She turned the sound back on. A tiny smile crossed her face. She had a date tomorrow, a reason to get dolled up, something to look forward to. She wasn't sure what this whole Brad thing was, but he seemed nice enough.

She flicked off the TV with the remote after the show was finished and headed up to bed.  
----------**  
**


	14. Adapting and Understanding

Hannah sat in her room all of Sunday, moping. She didn't really know what else to do. She couldn't go over and see Amy because she'd run into Bright. And she couldn't go see Bright because, well, because! She really needed to get some more friends in this town. But she didn't have any to turn to now.

So, she was currently sitting in her room, laying across the bed and moping.

There was a knock at her door.

"Nina, it's okay. I am not really hungry. I'm fine." She replied politely. Nina had tried to coax her out once every hour or so all day, so she was getting good at repeating this line.

"Hannah, it's me," was the reply. Hannah face squinched up in a mixture of shock, embarrassment and frustration. It was Bright. She didn't want to talk to him. Maybe if she stayed quiet he would think she wasn't there or she was asleep. "Hannah, I know you're in there. Nina let me in." Hannah sighed. She got up.

"Bright, I don't want to talk to you." She replied, opening the door and crossing her arms in front of her. She stared at him.

"Well, that's too bad because I wanna talk to you." He pushed the door open further and walked into her room. She huffed and shut the door.

"Bright, what could you possibly say?" Her arms refolded.

"Hannah, I didn't," he started.

"Didn't what, Bright?"

"Didn't mean to push you, okay? I'm a guy, I get worked up easily."

"Oh, yeah let's pull that excuse out of the hat! I'm a guy," she taunted "it's okay for me to be all aggressive and stupid and that's fine because I'm a guy, it's what we do!" She rolled her eyes.

"Hannah, listen. I wasn't ever the kind of guy that was shy about sex, okay? I've had sex. But you've gotta believe me when I tell you that I respect that you don't want to until you're married." He looked at her. His face was earnest.

"Why should I believe that? You didn't seem like you were respecting me back there!"

"Hannah! Please! Sit down." He shouted, finally getting her attention. So, she sat down next to him on the bed, reluctantly. He turned to face her.

"What?" She asked.

"Hannah, I am a guy. It's the way we are. We are naturally aggressive, programmed for sex and reproduction and all that crap. I know you think that's an excuse, but it's not. It's the truth. More than that Hannah, it's how we express our feelings. If we think a girl is hot, well, we want to express that. Girls don't do that. They talk about it, and give gifts and stuff, but not guys. Guys suck at that stuff." He paused. "But more than anything Hannah, my doing that means that I am attracted to you. That I think you are a beautiful girl, and I want to express that to you. Hell! Hannah, none of the girls I've dated made me feel the way you do. You don't get it!"

"So, that's the only way you can express that to me? By pressuring me to do something I don't want to do? Something I thought we were clear on not happening?"

"No, but it's the way guys are. I don't think you're just another one of the sluts I "dated" and did stuff with. We've been through this. You make me feel different. I think you're beautiful not because you're hot, but because you are a beautiful person. I love you. For heaven's sake, Hannah! I'm a twenty year old guy sitting here telling you, I LOVE YOU! I'm supposed to be out scamming on some blonde chick with her pants halfway down her butt and her boobs half exposed, not sitting on a bed with you telling you that! But I am because I can't go see those other girls now, I'm dysfunctional or something. Whenever I even think about one of those other girls, I remember how much I'm miss talking to you or how pretty your smile is. I sound like a Hallmark card, but damn it Hannah, you've gotta get it by now. I'm here to stay." He sighed. It felt good to say that all.

A tear rolled down her cheek. She hung her head. She felt terrible.

"Hannah, I'm sorry I pushed you and I know that it was wrong of me. Please forgive me."

Tears were falling fast now, soaking into the blanket on her bed. "I'm sorry, Bright." She managed between sniffles. She leaned closer to him and he wrapped his arms around her.

"What are you apologizing for?" He asked gently.

"For being an awful, impulsive, overreacting girl," she replied into his shoulder.

He looked her in the eyes, cupping her face with both of his hand, gently caressing her cheek with his right thumb and catching a few tears. "You are not an awful girl. That's the way you are. It's okay. I'm still here. You can't be too awful."

She laughed a little and smiled. He blinked and smiled back. "I really am sorry," he whispered. "If I ever go too far for you again, just stop me, okay and know that I am sorry in advance." She nodded and pressed her lips gently to his. She sniffled a little and perked up.

"Can I come over and hang out? I've been in here all day. I'm kinda bored."

"Of course! I'm sure Amy would like to see you too. Maybe we can do something together tonight." He stood up and offered her his hand.

"You know, I could just stop being so attractive, then we wouldn't have a problem at all." She replied cheekily as they walked out of the door and past he porch swing.

"How would you do that?" He asked.

"Well, never wear any makeup, stop shaving my legs and waxing my eyebrows. Oh! I could wear the same clothes everyday."

"Nah, you'd still be cute. Stick with the good hygiene it's better for the long haul." He quipped. She laughed.

He opened his front door for her, and she walked inside. The grandfather clock in the hallway was just striking six as they passed it. They sat down on the couch and looked at each other.

"Amy! Are you home? Hannah and I are bored." He yelled into the emptiness.

She came downstairs a few minutes later.

"Hey guys!" She smiled.

"Wow, Amy, you are chipper." Hannah pointed out.

"Are you dressed up for some reason?" Bright questioned. Amy looked down at herself. She wasn't dressed up.

"I'm not dressed up." She denied.

"Amy, since this whole Ephram thing happened all you've worn is sweatpants and old jeans. You're hair in a ponytail and nothing much on your face. Come on, I'm a guy but I'm not blind."

"He's right, Amy." Hannah added.

"I just felt like wearing something different for a change." She denied again.

"Amy! Black pants, a low cut blue top, jewelry, makeup and nice shoes are not things you idly put on. I am a girl, I know. You're going somewhere! What's going on?" Hannah realized.

"I'm just going out. I can't mope forever, can I?"

"Where are you going?" Bright asked.

"Out, just out. I might catch a movie or something."

"In that outfit?" Hannah repeated.

The doorbell rang. Amy froze.

"Oh, I wonder who that could be. Someone for Amy perhaps?" Hannah darted to the door. Before Amy could get there, she had opened it. Standing outside the door was Brad. "Well, Brad. Hi. Didn't expect to find you on the other side of this door."

"Hannah?" He wasn't sure that was her name. "Are you and Amy related or something?" He looked puzzled. Amy walked up behind her.

"Not yet," she mumbled under her breath. "No, we're just good friends. Come on in!"

"We, really should get going. Don't wanna miss our movie!" Amy rambled.

"We'll be fine." Brad smiled taking her hand and walking back into the living room behind Hannah. Amy rolled her eyes. She didn't want to get roped into this.

"Bright, this is Brad." Hannah introduced. "Bright is Amy's brother and my boyfriend." She replied sitting down next to him. He shook Bright's hand.

"How do you know Amy?" He asked.

"I danced with her at a party." Brad replied uncomfortably shoving his hands in his pockets. The room was silent a minute, awkwardly.

"He's the one that took care of Amy when she passed out." Hannah added.

Bright nodded. "Well, looks like it's just you and me tonight!" He put his arm around Hannah's shoulder.

"Whatever will we do!" She faked exasperation. She looked up at Amy. "Have a good time you two."

"Thanks." Amy replied sarcastically. Hannah laughed. "Come on Brad." She grabbed his hand and they left.

Outside, they walked to his car. "I'm sorry about them, well her. She's not usually like that. It's just that I'm, well, I'm not gonna talk about it right now. Let's just have fun."

"Sounds great," He replied.  
------  
A/N: Sorry if that was too sappy for anyone. I'm a sappy writer. If you're not used to that by not, you probably shouldn't be reading. I've got three words for all of my readers: REVIEW, REVIEW, and REVIEW! I can't read your minds. I don't know if you are enjoying this, or what you think I should be doing if you don't tell me. Please. If you read this, just take a moment and review. Thanks much!


	15. Fair Chance

"So Amy, tell me about yourself." Brad requested.

"What is there to tell?" She smiled sheepishly.

"What are you planning for you life? What's going on right now, stuff like that."

"I was going to go to Princeton when I graduated last year, but stuff happened so I postponed my enrollment at least for this year. Nothing is really going on right now, I am just at home taking my year off."

"You say stuff, happened? Do you care to elaborate?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Not really," she blinked at sipped her water. There was an awkward silence for a few moments before Amy finally gave in. "My mom has cancer and my brother and I are kind of home for moral support for both of my parents."

"Oh, that's sucks. I'm sorry I pushed it."

"Oh, no it's alright." She smiled politely.

"So, what about you? I don't know too much about you. Kinda just randomly met in a bedroom somewhere."

"I'm a senior at County, and I'm not sure where I'm going to go next fall or what I want to do but I have a few options in mind." He nodded.

"Why did you go to that party?" She asked the question she really wanted to know the answer to.

"You mean because I wasn't drinking?"

"Yeah." She blinked.

"I have nothing against drinkers, but it's not really my thing. I like control of my body to stay in my hands all night. I just came because some of my friends were there, although they weren't great friends or anything so actually that is a good question." He looked down and back up to her. His eyes seeming to try to catch hers as they darted around. "Maybe it was fate or something." He smiled.

She would have wanted to gag herself after that line if it wasn't delivered so sincerely. It was just sad. Her lap began to make an obnoxious noise a second later, and she realized it was her phone again.

"I'm sorry," she apologized pulling it out of her purse and looking at the screen. Her face contorted a little and she pressed the end button.

"Who was it?" He asked.

"No one," she replied smiling.  
----------  
"Hey, this is Amy Abbott and this is my message machine so leave a message and I'll call you back or something! Bye!"

He'd heard that more than a few times before.

"Amy, it's me. Just calling again to tell you that I'll be coming home next week. I guess you don't really want to talk to me, but I hope you listen to your messages. I'll be back in Denver on Wednesday afternoon. I hope we can talk soon, I," the machine cut him off,  
"love you."

He sighed and dropped the phone back on hook.  
----------  
"Hey Ephram, man, what's up?" Bright answered the phone.

"Hey, Bright! Well, you know the usual brooding. You?" He asked.

"Good, doing well. Doing school, hanging out you know?"

"How's Hannah?"

"She's cool, we're cool. Still together if that's what you wanted to know."

"Just want to make sure she's doing well. That you're treating her right."

"When have I ever not? Come on Ephram, dude. Seriously, she's got me so whipped. You'd probably think I was so pathetic."

"Bright, I dated Amy. You've seen me. You've seen whipped."

"True. Whatever though, I like being whipped. It's safe, comfortable."

"Yeah. I get it."

"You really miss my sister, don't you?"

"Yeah. I don't think she's willing to take me back, but I need to come home and at least try to get her back. Coming here was a mistake."

"Dude, she's freaking out about you. She's so mixed up. Don't expect giggles and kisses okay?" Bright quipped.

"Yeah, I figured that Bright."

"So, what's the plan? I hear you're finally coming home then?" Bright bit into a carrot.

"Yeah, I'm coming home soon. Wednesday actually, I get to Denver in the afternoon." He replied.

"Dude, do you want me to come and get you or something? I totally could. I mean if you need a ride."

"Well, I was gonna take a cab, but if you're sure?"

"Totally, no problem," he reassured.

"Well, flight comes in at three."

"Excellent, we'll I'll see you then dude!"

"Thanks! Bye Bright."

"Popcorn's done!" Bright exclaimed bearing a bowl of popped corn as he entered the living room where he had left Hannah a few minutes ago.

"Who was on the phone?" She asked.

"An old friend," he replied  
----------  
It was dark when Brad pulled back up to the Abbott residence. The movie had been good.

"Tonight was fun Amy; we should do this again sometime soon." Brad smiled showing all his pearly whites. He certainly was a proper young gentleman. Amy wasn't quite sure how she felt about that.

"Yeah it was."

"Can I call you?" He asked, forcing her to look at him.

"Yeah, here, I'll give you my number." She shuffled around in her purse for a pen. She took his left hand and wrote her number, with the pen across the top of his hand. "That's my cell." She added, placing the pen back in her purse and returning her attention to him.

"Great," he mumbled, placing one hand on her hip and one on her face. She had plenty of time to react but didn't, and was quite surprised when after ten or so seconds of him looking straight at her-his lips so close to hers-he kissed her. She didn't kiss back. He just placed a few gentle pecks on hers.

He stepped back and grabbed her hand, preparing to say goodnight.

"Goodnight, Amy." He smiled, satisfied with this night. He turned to leave but she didn't let go of his hand. "What's wrong?" He asked returning to her.

"Listen Brad, I don't feel like I gave you a fair chance and I'm sorry about that. All that stuff that went on that we talked about earlier, involved a relationship with this guy who I was dating for a while and it was messy, and things are still uncertain, but I do kinda like you, so I feel it's only fair that I let you know this is not the normal me. You seem really nice. Call me, okay?" She asked and stepped toward him and kissed him a little more passionately than he had kissed her. He kissed back. She blinked and let go of his hand. "Goodnight Brad." She smiled.

"Goodnight, Amy." He smiled back. He was not just happy, he was ecstatic. He watched her place her key in the door and shut it behind her. Wow, he thought.  
----------

A/N: I am a TERRIBLE author. That chapter had a stunning lack of Bright/Hannahness. I'm sorry! I promise I will make it up to you. I'm really enjoying this foray into Ephram and Amy territory and the Ephram/Bright relationship however. As I have said before, bear with me. I love all you dedicated readers! New chapters soon.


	16. A Delicate Balance

"It's really sweet of you to agree to go with me, Bright."

"Hannah, I went to County high. I know the big deal that everyone makes out of the Fall Festival."

"It's such a silly, immature thing but other than prom with Topher, I've never really done these school functions. I totally understand though, being out of school that it's dumb to come back just for the Fall Festival." She was self-deprecating again.

"I'm not going back for the Fall Festival. I'm going back for you." He turned and watched her dart about her room getting ready to leave.

"I know. Thank you!" She popped up on her tip-toes and kissed him. "I'm going to go buy a dress now." She smiled. He caught her hand.

"What's wrong with the one you wore to prom? That one fit you just right in all the right places." He pulled her close to his body.

"I can't wear the same dress. But thanks for noticing." She giggled. "I'll find one that looks even better." He embraced her closely and smiled.

"Good. I can't wait to see it."

"I've gotta run though, because I have to work at six tonight and then I have an essay to rough draft. Bye Bright!" She rushed out the door and drove to the mall, leaving him in her room.

She hit quite a few stores in the search for the perfect dress. She thought it was kind of odd to need a formal dress for the so called, "Fall Festival." She had expected a hoedown and a hayride or something. At around four forty-five she found it. It was a little red dress, not too little, but little enough. It went down to just an inch or so from her knees. It was formfitting but it didn't crush her, and it was on sale!

She paid for it: rushed home, showered, got into her uniform for work, had a bite of what Nina had prepared and headed out.  
-------  
Harold, Rose, Amy and Bright were all seated at the dinner table, together for the first time in quite a while.

"So what's new? I feel like I haven't seen you or talked to either of you in a long time." Rose asked.

"Umm, well nothing much is new." Bright mumbled uncomfortably through half a mouthful of food.

"Yeah, there's not too much." Amy agreed.

"How is Hannah?" She asked Bright.

"Good, she's good." Bright sighed and replied honestly.

"Have you done anything special?"

"He's taking her to the Fall Festival at County," Amy offered almost giggling.

"Oh really," Harold replied

"Yeah, I mean, she wanted to go. Her last experience at a County High event was less than stellar with Shasta McSpastic. I figure I am her only chance at erasing that painfully awkward memory." Bright replied coolly.

"Yeah, right," Amy scoffed.

"Oh, because you have so much in your love life to be stuck-up about," he bit back.

"This isn't about me Bright, it's about you."

"This is SO about you too. What is going on with Brad? Do you even like him? Aren't you still pining after Ephram? Poor Brad, you're just leading him on. He's a fragile on Amy, you know that."

"I am not leading Brad on, Bright." She was not yelling, but she was using a sharp tone.

"Who is Brad?" Rose asked.

"He's this guy that I met at a party that Hannah and I went to a while back. He really likes me, and he's pretty nice."

"Basically you're good two-shoe type." Bright interjected cynically.

"Do you like this Brad boy, Amy?" Harold chimed in.

"I don't know. I mean, I do like him. He's really nice, very sweet and innocent. Almost to a fault,"

"But she doesn't know who she wants: Brad or Ephram. Who by the way I am picking up on Wednesday," Bright replied.

"That's the day of the Fall Festival dance, Bright."

"Yes, genius. The dance isn't till that night though. I pick Ephram up at like three or something, plenty of time."

"So, the little hoodlum is back from gallivanting all around Europe, huh? Well, Andy will be delighted to hear about that." Harold put a fork full of food in his mouth.

"I don't think he wants his Dad to know. He'll go see him when he wants to."

"Bright, the man has a right to know that his son is back in town."

"Whatever, but I am not taking the blame for telling you."

"Amy, you are not actually interested in pursuing a further relationship with that boy, are you?" Harold asked, condescendingly.

"I don't know, Dad. Does this have to be an indictment of me? Can't we just eat dinner?" The table fell silent.  
-------  
Ephram boarded a British Airways flight for the long trip home. It was a night flight and then a stay in Chicago for a day and another connection before he got to Denver. Cheap flights sucked. He leaned back a little in his seat and put on his headphones. Soon he fell asleep.  
-------  
The phone rang and Hannah picked up the cordless, while still trying to write.

"Hello?"

"Hey snoodle,"

"Bright?" She asked, confused.

"Yep, how are you muffin?"

"Bright are you doing drugs?"

"No, sweetie."

"Snoodle, muffin, sweetie? What the heck?"

"Just trying out some nicknames for you, Hannah gets kinda long sometimes."

"That's nice, but keep trying."

"Pookie? Snookums? Raggedy Anne?" He attempted.

"I meant when you weren't on the phone with me. I'm sorry, I'd love to talk, but I have to finish writing this paper."

"It's kinda late to be writing a paper, isn't it?"

"Well, it's due tomorrow and I have to finish it, no matter how late it is."

"Okay, don't bite my head off, peaches." Hannah rolled her eyes.

"I'm sorry but I need to finish this. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Okay, Bright?"

"Alright, goodnight Hannah, love you." He hung up.

"Love you, too?" She questioned, realizing he was already gone. She put done the phone and finished her paper.  
-------  
Yes, it was a Monday night and Amy was sitting in a plastic chair, watching Brad bowling his second ball on the sixth frame of their second game. The only other people at the Everwood Bowl were three drunken college students on late ten, and an old tough looking couple. She wasn't quite sure why she was here.

It was kitschy and quaint just like their relationship. 

"Yes!" Brad stuck up his arms and cheered. He'd gotten a spare. She smiled, idly walked past him, picked up a ball and rolled it down the lane.

If she was with Ephram, she'd have been doing something fun and interesting right now. They'd probably be at a coffeehouse or a club, instead of a bowling alley. She wondered where he was right now. What he was thinking about, how he was feeling and what he was doing.

"Amy! You got a strike!" Brad knocked her out of her daze.

She smiled. "Yeah I did! Wow." She sat down and watched him bowl. She continued to think about Ephram. She picked up her phone to call him, but realized that she couldn't. Did she really want to though? Brad was always nice to her and she was sitting here and thinking about another guy? Was Bright right? Was she leading him on? Before she could think any further than that it was her frame again.

The night ended as tamely as it began and she went up to her bed asking herself the same questions over and over again.  
-------


	17. New Beginnings and Possibilities

Author's Note: Alright, I'm gonna start writing something I don't want to write, right here. I am super busy and don't know when I am gonna have a chance to update after this chapter. I just recently started college at St. Olaf College and well, class is gonna take up a lot of my time. I know that I have readers out there who really want to finish this story, and enjoy reading, but "real" life needs to take first priority at this point. I'm sorry, I meant to finish it before I left, but it didn't happen. So, enjoy this and don't hold out for too many more as who knows when I'll get another chance. Love you all for reading. :) And hey, you have the real deal coming up soon enough on the WB so, take care.

------  
"Amy is up in her room." Bright pointed, throwing his keys down on the entryway table.

"Well, here goes nothing." He inhaled deeply.  
------  
Amy stirred, realizing she'd fallen asleep again. She'd been pretty tired lately, and she wasn't sure why. She got up and stretched a moment, coming back to consciousness, realizing that a knock on her door had awoken her. She padded over to the door and swung it open.

"Amy," he uttered, almost whispering her name with sweetness in his voice that she'd never heard him use before. Almost a longing.

"Ephram," she murmured back, truthfully a little stunned that he was actually back, standing right there in front of her. "Wow, you're actually back."

He nodded. Without thinking about it, her body just kind of moved her and she wrapped her arms around him, burying her head in his shoulder. He reciprocated the embrace.  
------  
"Hannah-Banana, did you stop loving me?" Bright leaned on the door frame as soon as she opened the door.

"Hi Bright," she replied. "Why would you say that?"

"Because it's been days since I've seen you."

"I'm sorry Bright; I've just been really busy lately with school and work and everything. I'm gonna make more time though." She smiled. "Oh, come in." She opened the door widely.

"So, you're not too busy right now?"

"Not currently, nope."

"Excellent because it's been too long." He smiled, immediately kissing her.

"Bright, as much as I love to kiss you, can we do something else, like talk?"

"Sure, what do you wanna talk about?" He replied after a sigh, and a few more wanton kisses.

"I don't know. Anything."

"Okay," he looked around.

"Hey, are you hungry? It's kinda late. Nina's not home. We could cook something?"

"Just like old times?"

"Mmhm," she exclaimed with a grin.

"Let's get crackin'!" He replied as he clapped his hands together loudly.  
------  
She inhaled deeply as they stood there, interlocked. Her eyes closed and she welcomed the contact. This was safe for her.

"I love you, Amy. I wish we could just start over, wish none of last year's problem had happened. I missed you." He whispered into her neck. "I know things are weird, or different now. I can try and understand if you never want to be involved with me again."

"Ephram, I, this is dumb to say, but when I saw you all the anger and confusion I felt towards you, was just gone. It's so good that you are back. I love you too. I always will." She whispered in reply.

"So, where does this put us?"

"I want to start over." She replied.

He lifted his head from her shoulder and his cheek brushed hers gently on the way up. He moved till their eyes were meeting and their foreheads touching. He smiled, closed his eyes and his lips quivered a moment above hers. Their lips danced across each other passionately. He stepped back and she opened her eyes slowly.

In a noticeable shift in character, she looked at him and kind of grinned.

"Hi, I'm Amy. I think I've seen you around town before." She stuck out her hand.

"Yeah, I suppose you have. You know, Everwood is pretty small."

"It is. I should tell you know I have a good feeling about us."

"Us?"

"Oh yeah, us. We have this chemistry. I can feel these things," she smiled. He played along.

"Would it be forward to ask you if you'd go out with me tonight?" He asked taking her hand.

"No, I think it would be entirely appropriate."

"In that case, do you want to go out tonight?"

"Love to!" She beamed and squeezed his hand tightly.

Neither of them had ever been happier and both had a brighter outlook than ever for the future of their relationship together.  
------  
She looked down to see her feet walking down an aisle. She looked up and saw Bright at the end of that aisle. Her hands touched the soft white material that she was wearing and she smiled realizing where she was and the moments flew by so quickly that she was up front at the end of the ceremony.

"I do." She heard Bright exclaim.

"I do." She heard her own voice repeat.

"I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride," the preacher finished.

The next thing she knew he had turned to her, hands lifting her veil and placing that first "real" kiss on her lips. This was the most amazing moment of her life. She was filled with an overwhelming sense of pride and joy.

Hannah squinched her face and opened her eyes. She sat up and realized it was all a dream. At least for now.  
------

Author's Note: Short, I know. I'm sorry. I needed to end it somehow. I hope you liked it. Hopefully I'll be around writing something else sometime. Thanks everyone. :)


End file.
